TRIPHIS IN THE WHITE MONASTERY: REUSED TEMPLE BLOCKS FROM SOHAG
Abstract: Preliminary report on the Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman tem- ple blocks reused in the Church of St. Shenoute near Sohag. While some materials can be traced to sites further south, including Abydos, Nag‘ el-Mesheyekh and el-Mensha (Ptolemais), previously unrecorded inscriptions confirm that a group of limestone ceiling blocks derive from the temple of Repyt at nearby Atripe. This discovery may support Shenoute’s repeated claims to have destroyed this particular temple.
«Almost everywhere in the Walls of the Monastery, in the Pavement that is before the Chancel, and in the great and beautiful pair of Stairs that lead up to the Sleeping-place of the Monks, are certain great Stones full of Cyphers and Hieroglyphick Figures placed not right; by which we may understand, that those that have put them there had no knowledge of this mysterious Tongue.»1 The inscribed Pharaonic spolia within the Coptic church of St. Shenoute near Sohag have fascinated many visitors2. The church was built c. 450 CE,
1 Johann WANSLEBEN, The Present State of Egypt, or: A New Relation of a Late Voyage into That Kingdom, 1678, p. 225. 2 PM V, p. 31; E. AMÉLINEAU, Les moines égyptiens, vie de Schnoudi, Paris 1889, p. 88; W.G. DE BOK, Matériaux pour servir à l’archéologie de l’Égypte chrétienne, St. Petersburg 1901, p. 44, 46, 48; W.M.F. PETRIE, Athribis, 1908, p. 11 and 14; ID., Ancient Egypt 2, 1915, p. 27; S. CLARKE, Christian Antiquities in the Nile Valley, Oxford 1912, p. 148; G. LEFEBVRE, Deir-el-Abiad, in: F. CABROL – H. LECLERCQ (eds.), Diction- naire d’archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie (DACL) IV 1, Paris 1920, col. 469-470; R. WEILL, Monuments égyptiens divers, XII: Monuments d’Amasis et de Hakoris au Deir el-Abiad, RT 36 (1914), p. 97-100; U. MONNERET DE VILLARD, Les couvents près de Sohag, II, Milan 1926, p. 123-124; H. KEES, Kulttopographische und mythologische Beiträge, ZÄS 64 (1931), p. 108-109; H. GAUTHIER, Un autel consacré à la déesse Mehit, ASAE 35 (1935), p. 207-212; S. SAUNERON, Villes et légendes d’Égypte XXXII – Le chaudron de Sohag: comment naît une légende, BIFAO 69 (1970), p. 54; P. VERNUS, Inscriptions de la Troisième Période Intermédiaire (II): Blocs du grand-prêtre d’Amon ˆIwpwt remployés dans le Deir-el-Abyad, BIFAO 75 (1975), p. 67-72; F.W. DEICHMANN, Zum Altägyptischen in der koptischen Baukunst, MDAIK 8 (1939), p. 36; ID., Die Spo- lien in der spätantiken Architektur (SAWM 1975, Band 6), Munich 1975, p. 56-60, Abb. 22-25; Cl. TRAUNECKER, Essai sur l’histoire de la XXIXe dynastie, BIFAO 79 (1979), p. 408, 422, 433; B. VERBEECK, art. Sohag, in: LÄ V, col. 1052-1054; ID., De Kloosterk- erken bij Sohag: De architekturale beslechting van een ideologisch conflict, Phœnix 27 (1981), p. 94-96; H.G. SEVERIN, Dayr Anba Shinudah: Architectural Sculpture, Coptic Encyclopedia III, New York 1991, p. 769; Y. EL-MASRY, More Recent Excavations at Athribis in Upper Egypt, MDAIK 57 (2001), p. 209; P. GROSSMANN, Christliche Architek- tur in Ägypten (HdO I, vol. 62), Leiden 2002, p. 171-172; O. PERDU, Inscriptions Saïtes I, Paris 2002, p. 82 (No. 13).
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while Shenoute was archimandrite of a federation consisting of the so- called «White Monastery» and two other religious houses3. While some observers have speculated on the possible origins and religious significance of these pagan fragments, most of the reused blocks have remained unpub- lished. Beginning in 2007, the author conducted an epigraphic survey at the White Monastery in order to record all blocks presently visible in the church4. While a full publication of the Pharaonic blocks is still in progress, the present contribution highlights an object of particular importance for the history of the White Monastery and its region. Nearly a century ago, Petrie suggested that the primary building mate- rial for the church of St. Shenoute came from the temple of Repyt at Atripe5, the closest surviving stone monument, roughly three kilometers south of the White Monastery6. Although this hypothesis is quite reason- able, direct archaeological or textual evidence for such a provenance has not been published up to now7. Alternatively, Kees proposed that the
3 For a recent discussion of the construction date, see P. GROSSMANN, Zur Stiftung und Bauzeit der grossen Kirche des Schenuteklosters bei Suhaq (Oberägypten), ByzZ 101 (2002), p. 35-54. 4 The epigraphic mission at Sohag is part of the White Monastery Church Documenta- tion Project, directed by Bentley Layton, under the auspices of the Yale Monastic Archae- ology Project, Stephen J. Davis, executive director. Our research was given generous support by the Marilyn M. and William K. Simpson Endowment Fund for Egyptology at Yale University, under the direction of John C. Darnell. For project updates and detailed maps of the church, see www.yale.edu/egyptology/aw_white.htm. The author would like to thank Bentley Layton for the invitation to work at the White Monastery, and for pro- viding valuable suggestions on this project and the present article. 5 W.M.F. PETRIE, Athribis, p. 11 and 14; this suggestion is largely accepted today; see e.g. Y. EL-MASRY, MDAIK 57 (2001), p. 209; P. GROSSMANN, Christliche Architektur in Ägypten, p. 171 and 532; K. LEMBKE – C. FLUCK – G. VITTMANN, Ägyptens späte Blüte: Die Römer am Nil, Mainz 2004, p. 110; C.T. SCHROEDER, Monastic Bodies: Discipline and Salvation in Shenoute of Atripe, Philadelphia 2007, p. 95. 6 Several Pharaonic tombs in the western gebel overlooking the White and Red Monasteries are even closer than Atripe (B. OCKINGA, A Tomb from the Reign of Tutankha- mun at Akhmim [Reports of the Australian Centre for Egyptology 10], Warminster 1997; Y. EL-MASRY, Rock-Tombs from the Late Old Kingdom in the 9th Nome of Upper Egypt, SAK 36 [2007], p. 183-216), but they would not have provided blocks for the church. 7 G. WAGNER – V. RONDOT, ZPE 103 (1994), p. 250, n. 6, recently claimed: «Le texte de la Vie de Chénouda parle de la destruction et de la réutilisation des monuments antiques de la ville voisine et précise que cette question fut l’objet d’un désaccord entre le saint et les maçons, le premier préconisant le remploi contre l’avis des séconds.» How- ever, the relevant section of the Life of Shenoute (cf. N. LUBOMIERSKI, Die Vita Sinuthii [STAC 45], Tübingen 2007, p. 44-45, Episode 21, for the sources), says nothing about the local town or the origin of the blocks. The dispute between Shenoute and his stone- masons only appears in the expanded Arabic redaction (E. AMÉLINEAU, Monuments pour servir à l’histoire de l’Égypte chrétienne aux IVe et Ve siècles, p. 353-354), and is appar- ently an allusion to the proverbial cornerstone which the builders rejected.
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church was built on the site of an earlier temple of the god Horus-ímy- snw.t, since a naos of the latter god currently resides within the east end of the long hall of the church, and tentatively identified modern Sohag with Pharaonic toponym Nsw (var. Sw), the cult center of this particular deity8. Although many Pharaonic blocks were reused in the church walls, the majority of objects from the White Monastery that have already been published are merely scattered on the ground throughout site, both inside and outside of the church. These monuments include: 1. Blocks from a funerary monument of the Generalissimo and High Priest of Amun, Iuput (Ywpt), from Abydos (Dynasty Twenty-Two)9 2. Granite altar of the goddess Mehyt,10 dedicated by Necho II and usurped by Psammetichus II (Dynasty Twenty-Six)11 3. Statue base of the general Neshor (Dynasty Twenty-Six)12 4. Granite naos of the god Horus-ímy-snw.t13, dedicated by Hakoris (Dynasty Twenty-Nine)14
8 H. KEES, ZÄS 64 (1931), p. 108. 9 P. VERNUS, BIFAO 75 (1975), p. 67-72; B. VERBEECK, Phœnix 27 (1981), p. 95, Fig. 22; C. MANASSA, The Late Egyptian Underworld: Sarcophagi and Related Texts from the Nectanebid Period, I (ÄAT 72), Wiesbaden 2008, p. 4, n. 21; two additional blocks have been found since the publication of Vernus. For the name and career of Ywpt see recently F. COLIN, Les Libyens en Égypte (XVe siècle a.C. – IIe siècle p.C.). Onomas- tique et histoire (Diss. Brussels, 1996), I, p. 36-37, 57-58; II, p. 5-7. 10 For the goddess Mehyt of Eastern Behedet (Nag‘ el-Mesheyekh, near Girga), see primarily S. CAUVILLE, L’hymne à Mehyt d’Edfou, BIFAO 82 (1982), p. 105-125; O. PERDU, Exemple de stèle archaïsante pour un prêtre modèle, RdE 52 (2001), p. 184, n. 5 and 8; for an overview of the site, see recently B. OCKINGA – Y. AL-MASRI, Two Ramesside Tombs at El-Mashayikh, I, Sydney 1988, p. 1-2. 11 H. GAUTHIER, ASAE 35 (1935), p. 207-212, only published the decoration of two sides of the altar based on photographs, but decoration is actually preserved on four sides; for the usurped cartouches on this altar, see recently R.B. GOZZOLI, The Statue BM EA 37891 and the Erasure of Necho II’s Names, JEA 86 (2000), p. 73, I.b3 (with further bibliography). 12 O. PERDU, Socle d’une statue de Neshor à Abydos, RdE 43 (1992), p. 145-162 (the statue is only known from the manuscripts of Golenischeff). 13 For this god, see primarily L.V. ZABKAR, A Hieracocephalous Deity from Naqa, Qustul and Philae, ZÄS 102 (1971), p. 150-151; H. TE VELDE, Horus imi-schenut, in: LÄ III (1980), col. 47-48; and further E. BRESCIANI, Îr ímj-snwt, Îr ímj-s†3tjw oppure Îr ímj-Ì3tjw?, in: Hommages à François Daumas, I, Montpellier 1986, p. 87-94; H. GOED- ICKE, Gods and Priests by the Hundreds?, in: M. SCHADE-BUSCH (ed.), Wege öffnen (Fs. Gundlach) (ÄAT 35), Wiesbaden 1996, p. 73-79; Chr. LEITZ, ed., LGG I, p. 252; V, p. 244-245. 14 R. WEILL, RT 36 (1914), p. 97-99; a good photograph showing the position of the naos appears in P. GROSSMANN – D. BROOKS-HEDSTROM – M. ABDAL-RASSUL – E.S. BOLMAN,
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5. Statue base dedicated in Greek to a King Ptolemy by Eidos of Alexandria15 Since these objects now serve no architectural purpose, it is impos- sible to determine when or how they came to Sohag, or to draw any conclusions concerning their role in the history of the church. In par- ticular, there is no reason to accept the oft repeated conclusion that the church was built over an earlier temple of the hieracocephalic crocodile Horus-ímy-snw.t, or to identify Nsw with Sohag, just because a naos of this god now resides in the church16. The blocks of Iuput and the statue of Neshor (1, 3) apparently came from Abydos, the colossal altar of Mehyt (2) most likely originated in Nag‘ el-Mesheyekh17, while the Greek statue base (5) may derive from Ptolemais (el-Mensha), and thus there is no reason why the naos of Hakoris must be original to the site. Furthermore, a previously unpublished text from Atripe explicitly states that the temple (pr) of Horus-ímy-snw.t was south-east of Atripe and,
The Excavation in the Monastery of Apa Shenute (Dayr Anba Shinuda) at Suhag, Dum- barton Oaks Papers 58 (2004), Fig. 10. Weill’s copy of the inscription is slightly inac- curate, as is clear from the photograph of G. LEFEBVRE, DACL IV 1, col. 469, Fig. 3647. H. KEES, ZÄS 64 (1931), p. 108, already corrected the text on the left side; the right side should read: «Horus-ímy-snw.t, great god within the House of Life, lord of flame, great of burning, Lord of
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by extension, the site of the White Monastery18. As Kees already sug- gested, the toponym Nsw can easily be identified with Ptolemais (modern el-Mensha), which appears in Hieroglyphs as pr-sw, Demotic as p-sj and Coptic as cwis, and which actually featured a prominent crocodile cult19. Nonetheless, the inhabitants of the region were proba- bly acquainted with Horus-ímy-snw.t20, as they must have been with other local deities like Repyt of Atripe and Min from Akhmim21. Besides the scattered monuments, the vast majority of Pharaonic spolia are used in the construction of the White Monastery church. Although the building primarily consists of small, roughly cut blocks of locally quar- ried limestone, other massive granite or limestone blocks appear in archi- tecturally important locations, including door jambs, lintels, windows and roofing slabs22. The restriction of the Pharaonic blocks to these important
18 Chr. LEITZ – D. MENDEL – Y. EL-MASRY, Athribis II: Der Tempel Ptolemaios XII, Cairo 2010, p. XXXVII, n. 110; this is probably the same inscription mentioned by G. DARESSY, Notes et remarques, RT 19 (1897), p. 21, CXLV. 19 H. KEES, ZÄS 64 (1931), p. 108-109; cf. further R.S. BAGNALL, Cults and Names of Ptolemais in Upper Egypt, in W. CLARYSSE – A. SCHOORS – H. WILLEMS (eds.), Egyptian Religion: The Last Thousand Years (Fs. Quaegebeur), II (OLA 85), Leuven 1995, p. 1098-1099; this localization agrees with Egyptian geographic lists which place Horus- ímy-snw.t and his cult someplace between Thinis and Akhmim (see H. KEES, ZÄS 64 [1931], p. 108-109; A.H. GARDINER, AEO II, p. 41*-46*; The Epigraphic Survey, Medinet Habu VII, Pl. 549A; N. DE GARIS DAVIES, Hibis III, Pl. 4, Reg. IV, middle; cf. also Stela Leiden V 20 which belongs to a priest of Horus-ímy-snw.t but mentions the primary gods of both Akhmim and Atripe: H. DE MEULENAERE, Trois monuments de Basse Epoque, OMRO 44 [1963], p. 3-5). 20 Since Kronos was the standard Greek equivalent of Sobek (or Sobek-Geb) in the Graeco-Roman Period, and crocodiles were seen to represent time in general (conflation of Kronos and Chronos; see L. KÁKOSY, Das Krokodil als Symbol der Ewigkeit und der Zeit, MDAIK 20 [1965], p. 116-120), it is possible that the local god Kronos against whom Shenoute frequently railed was none other than the saurian Horus-ímy-snw.t from Ptolemais; see the recent discussion of S.H. AUFRÈRE, Kronos, un crocodile justicier des marécages de la rive occidentale du Panopolite au temps de Chenouté?, in: ID. (ed.), Encyclopédie religieuse de l’univers végétal (OrMonsp 15), Montpellier 2005, III, p. 77-93. 21 For Shenoute and Min, see S.L. EMMEL, Ithyphallic Gods and Undetected Liga- tures: Pan is not ‘Ours’, He is Min (Rectification of a Misreading in a Work of Shenute), GM 141 (1994), p. 43-46; note also that a large limestone block containing a Roman Period relief of an ithyphallic Min and the child deity Kolanthes is among the loose blocks at the White Monastery; for Shenoute and Repyt, see infra. 22 For the architectural use of these blocks, cf. already S. CLARKE, Christian Antiqui- ties in the Nile Valley, p. 148-149; F.W. DEICHMANN, Die Spolien in der spätantiken Architektur, p. 56-60; ID., MDAIK 8 (1939), p. 36; U. MONNERET DU VILLARD, Les cou- vents près de Sohag II, p. 123-124; P. GROSSMANN, Christliche Architektur, p. 171-172.
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positions suggests they were employed primarily for the sake of expedi- ency, obviating difficult expeditions to quarry new blocks from Aswan, rather than for ideological or aesthetic motives23. The reused Pharaonic blocks fall into several major groups. The most substantial set consists of almost thirty large pink-granite blocks with extremely fine reliefs and inscriptions (see Fig. 1)24. These granite pieces can be attributed securely to the reign of Amasis (Dynasty Twenty-Six), whose cartouches appear on many objects, sometimes partially effaced25. Two parallel door jambs on the north portal claim that Amasis is «beloved of Sokar,» while other blocks feature forms of Osiris and scenes from a Sed-Festival. The excellent quality of the reliefs, the gods depicted in the scenes, the proximity of the site to Abydos, and the generally scanty build- ing record of Amasis in Upper Egypt all suggest that these blocks derive from the Osiris temple at Kom el-Sultan in Abydos, otherwise known only from an offering table, foundation blocks and the detailed testi- mony of the important official Peftuaneith preserved on statue Louvre
23 For the various motives and possible interpretations of using spolia in Late Antiq- uity, see in general F.W. DEICHMANN, Die Spolien in der spätantiken Architektur; and more recently B. BRENK, Spolia from Constantine to Charlemagne: Aesthetics versus Ideology, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 41 (1987), p. 103-109; J. ALCHERMES, Spolia in Roman Cities of the Late Empire: Legislative Rationales and Architectural Reuse, Dum- barton Oaks Papers 48 (1994), p. 167-178; B. WARD-PERKINS, Re-Using the Architec- tural Legacy of the Past, entre idéologie et pragmatisme, in: G.P. BROGIOLO – B. WARD- PERKINS (eds.), The Idea and Ideal of the Town Between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, Leiden 1999, p. 225-244; M. FABRICIUS HANSEN, The Eloquence of Appro- priation: Prolegomena to an Understanding of Spolia in Early Christian Rome (Analecta Romana Instituti Danici, Suppl. 33), Rome 2003; P. GROSSMANN, Modalitäten der Zerstörung und Christianizierung pharaonischen Tempelanlagen, in: J. HAHN – S. EMMEL – U. GOTTER (eds.), From Temple to Church: Destruction and Renewal of Local Cultic Topography in Late Antiquity (RGRW 163), Leiden 2008, p. 299-334. 24 Photographs of several blocks from this group have appeared already in W.G. DE BOK, Matériaux pour servir à l’archéologie de l’Égypte chrétienne, p. 48, Fig. 59; G. LEFEBVRE, DACL IV 1, col. 476, Fig. 2652; U. MONNERET DE VILLARD, Les couvents près de Sohag II, Pls. 145-147; F.W. DEICHMANN, Die Spolien in der spätantiken Architek- tur, Abb. 24. 25 Blocks belonging to Amasis were previously reported by R. WEILL, RT 36 (1914), p. 97-98 (followed by PM V, p. 31); G. LEFEBVRE, DACL IV 1, col. 470; P. VERNUS, BIFAO 75 (1975), p. 67 and Pl. VI; B. VERBEECK, LÄ V, col. 1052; Y. EL-MASRY, MDAIK 57 (2001), p. 209, n. 27. The author has not found any cartouches of Psammet- ichus I or Apries, as recorded by W.M.F. PETRIE, Athribis, p. 11 and 14; G. LEFEBVRE, DACL IV 1, col. 470 and Y. EL-MASRY, MDAIK 57 (2001), p. 209. These earlier reports may have simply misinterpreted the traces on the partially effaced cartouches, especially since the prenomens of all these kings were quite similar (already acknowledged by G. LEFEBVRE, DACL IV 1, col. 470).
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A 9326. The carefully mutilated cartouches of Amasis may indicate that the Osiris temple of Abydos was dismantled during the Persian Period27, only to be rebuilt in a new location by Nectanebo I and II in the Thirtieth Dynasty28. The Late Period history of Abydos is further confirmed by the testimony of a general of the Thirtieth Dynasty preserved on a statue in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA 1996.91)29. This fascinating inscription mentions restoration work carried out at temples in the Busir- ite Nome of Lower Egypt (Busiris, Lycopolis), as well as benefactions performed for Osiris and Sokar in Abydos to repair «the damage which the foreigners (viz. Persians) had inflicted (h ír.n Ìsty.w)»30. Another important group consists of at least eight large limestone roof- ing slabs used in the north-east staircase of the church connecting the sanctuary to the roof (Fig. 2). Several of these blocks, which still preserve their original paint, contain scenes appropriate to a temple ceiling; stars,
26 PM V, p. 43; B. KEMP, The Osiris Temple at Abydos, MDAIK 23 (1968), p. 146- 147. For the statue Louvre A 93, see most recently S. GRALLERT, Bauen – Stiften – Weihen: Ägyptische Bau- und Restaurierungsinschriften von den Anfängen bis zur 30. Dynastie (ADAIK 18), Berlin 2001, p. 473-474; J. HEISE, Erinnern und Gedenken: Aspekte der biographischen Inschriften der ägyptischen Spätzeit (OBO 226), Fribourg- Göttingen 2007, p. 229-233 (with extensive bibliography). O. PERDU, RdE 43 (1992), p. 146, n. 6, already suggested an Abydene origin for the blocks of Amasis. 27 For the damnatio memoriae of Amasis’s monuments, see already H. DE MEULENAE- RE, art. Amasis, in: LÄ I, col. 182; R.B. GOZZOLI, JEA 86 (2000), p. 79-80, n. 73; a detailed study on these erasures by A.J. Leahy is now in press (personal communication, 2008). 28 For the Thirtieth Dynasty temple of Osiris, south-east of Kom el-Sultan, see most recently M. MARLAR, Excavations of the Temple of Osiris at Abydos Reported on behalf of the University of Pennsylvania Museum — Yale University — Institute of Fine Arts, New York University Expedition to Abydos, in: J.-C. GOYON – Chr. CARDIN (eds.), Pro- ceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Egyptologists, II (OLA 150), Leuven 2007, p. 1251-1259; ID., The Osiris Temple at Abydos: an Archaeological Investigation of the Architecture and Decorative Elements of Two Temple Phases (Ph.D. Diss., New York University, 2009; UMI #3380220); D. O’CONNOR, Abydos: Egypt’s First Pharaohs and the Cult of Osiris, Cairo 2009, p. 128-129. 29 PM VIII, 801-727-310; P.-M. CHEVEREAU, Prosopographie des cadres militaires égyptiens de la Basse Epoque. Carrières militaires et carrières sacerdotales en Égypte du XIe au IIe siècle avant J.C., Paris 1985, p. 164, Doc. 237; M. HILL – J.P. ALLEN, MMA Bulletin 54/2 (1996), p. 8-9; Do. ARNOLD, Apollo (October 1997), p. 15; D. KLOTZ, Two Studies on Abydus in the Late Period (in preparation). 30 For Ìsty.w denoting Persians in contemporaneous inscriptions, see especially G. LEFEBVRE, Le tombeau de Petosiris II, p. 32 (No. 59, 3); cf. also the discussions of E.J. SHERMAN, Djedhor the Saviour Statue Base OI 10589, JEA 67 (1981), p. 95, n. u; Chr. THIERS, Civils et militaires dans les temples: Occupation illicite et expulsion, BIFAO 95 (1995), p. 499, n. a. In particular, note that the present phrase finds a close parallel in the Mendes Stela, line 9, where Ptolemy II speaks of renovations to the local temple aimed at «removing the damage which the evil foreigners had inflicted (rwí h ír.n Ìsty.w bds.w)» (Urk. II 38.7-8).
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cobras and vultures, and solar or astronomical inscriptions. The quality of the stone and style of carving are distinctly worse than those of the Saite Period granite blocks, and the orthographies generally suggest a date in the Graeco-Roman Period. Among the second group is a block of considerable historical impor- tance. Located above the second flight of stairs in the north-east stair- case, right next to the entrance to the modern day chapel of St. Cyril VI, this block contains eight rows of stars, and two columns of hieroglyphic inscriptions (Fig. 3). Although the right column is considerably dam- aged, the left column is quite legible (Fig. 4). […] s¨Ì¨.n=f p.t ¨pr.tw m Ìbs.w (a) m gs-Ìry (b) t n mw.t=f ’Ir.t-Îr Rpy.t Ìr ’Imnt(.t) (c) […] […] he erected a sky (viz. ceiling) outfitted with stars, above the earth for his mother, the Eye of Horus, Repyt in the West […]
Notes (a) A nearly identical phrase is used to describe the astronomical decoration in the temples of Dendera and Edfu: «all their ceilings are outfitted with stars (hy. ty=sn nb ¨pr.tw m Ìbs.w)» (S. Cauville, Les inscriptions dédicatoires du temple d’Hathor à Dendera, BIFAO 90 [1990], p. 106 and 109, n. (26) = Dendara XV 215.15; Edfou VII 12.3). In offering scenes, the golden bb-collar is said to be covered with precious stones, «just like the sky outfitted with stars (mí p.t ¨pr.tw m sb.w)» (Dendara III 143.1; XI 42.12); cf. also Dendara VII 210.10 and 4; Wb. I, 180, 9-10. (b) For the phrase m gs-Ìry, «in the upper half; above», cf. P. Wilson, A Ptolemaic Lexikon: a Lexicographical Study of the Ptolemaic Texts in the Temple of Edfu (OLA 78), Leuven 1997, p. 1109-1110; A. Egberts, In Quest of Meaning: A Study of the Ancient Egyptian Rites of Consecrating the Meret-chests and Driving the Calves, I (EgUit 8), Leiden 1995, p. 382, n. h; Manassa, The Late Egyptian Underworld I, p. 397, n. b. (c) «Eye of Horus in the West (ˆIr.t-Îr Ìr ˆImnt.t)» is the standard epithet of Repyt in Atripe; see Leitz, ed., LGG I, 434; IV, 662-3; V, 437 (with variants); for the preposition Ìr, «in (a land)», see Wb. III, 131, 27-29; Edel, ZÄS 100 (1973), p. 76.
This excerpt of a building inscription asserts that a certain king, whose name is now missing, erected the roof of a chapel or temple of the god- dess Repyt/Triphis, complete with decorative stars. In other words, this ceiling block, as well as similar pieces from the same staircase (totaling at least 5.7 m2 in surface area), originally came from the ceiling of a
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Repyt sanctuary, most likely the temple of Atripe31. While scholars have previously conjectured that assumed this was the case, the present block is the first one definitely known to come from Atripe. Although the White Monastery church has been renovated a number of times in its history, the fact that the ceiling blocks are now in an inner section of the church (the ceiling of a staircase) strongly suggests they have been there since its creation32. In addition to these ceiling slabs, several other lime- stone blocks of Graeco-Roman Period date are also present in the White Monastery. One large block contains a relief of Min and a child deity, probably Kolanthes (Fig. 5); however, although similar reliefs appear at Atripe33, the relief could have easily come from Akhmim or elsewhere34. Two other fragments (one in the roof, the other on the ground) feature painted reliefs of Bes-heads and kheker-frieze similar to architrave deco- ration on other Egyptian mammisis (Fig. 6)35. Since mammisi-related themes are prominent in the surviving decoration of the Repyt temple36, it is quite likely that these blocks originally belonged to the architrave of the temple at Atripe. The presence of these blocks within the White Monastery may relate to Shenoute’s famous conflicts with pagans (or crypto-pagans)37. In a
31 Although Repyt was also worshipped in the temples of her consort, Min of Akhmim, and her son, Kolanthes of Ptolemais (cf. R. EL-SAYED, Zur Erforschung des oberägyp- tischen Athribis: Erste Ergebnisse aus der Projektarbeit in den Jahren 2003 bis 2006, Sokar 13 [2006], p. 77, n. 1), there is no evidence for other temples dedicated specifically to Repyt outside of Atripe. 32 The testimony of J. WANSLEBEN, The Present State of Egypt, 1678, p. 225 (quoted above, p. 197), shows that at the very least, inscribed ceiling blocks were present in the staircases as early as the seventeenth century, prior to the major renovations of the last two centuries. 33 For the depiction of Kolanthes, compare W.M.F. PETRIE, Athribis, Pl. XXVII. 34 Note that Shenoute boasted of confiscating an image (eidolon) of Min-Pan from a pri- vate house and bringing it back to the Monastery; S.L. EMMEL, GM 141 (1994), p. 43-46. 35 E.g. F. DAUMAS, Les mammisis de Dendara, Cairo 1959, p. 287 and Pl. XCV. 36 Y. EL-MASRY – R. EL-SAYED – J. KOSCIUK – H. LEISEN – E. VON PLEHWE-LEISEN – Chr. LEITZ, Preliminary Report on the Third Season of Fieldwork of the University of Tübingen and SCA Joint Mission to Athribis (Nag‘ al-Shaykh Hamad — Sohag), in: The World of Ancient Egypt. Essays in Honor of Ahmed Abd el-Qader el-Sawi (ASAEi, Supp. 35), Cairo 2006, p. 64 and 74, Fig. 12; Chr. LEITZ, Le temple d’Athribis en Haute Égypte, AnnEPHE, Sciences religieuses 115 (2006-2007), p. 86-88; note also a similar ceiling block from Athribis with the same s{Ì{.n=f formula as on the Sohag block (ibid. p. 89). 37 For this controversial topic, see H. BEHLMER, Schenute von Atripe: De Iudicio (Torino, Museo Egizio, cat. 63000, cod. iv) (CMT 8), Turin 1996, p. LX-LXVI; S. EMMEL, From the Other Side of the Nile: Shenute and Panopolis, in: A. EGBERTS et al. (eds.), Perspectives on Panopolis, p. 95-113; ID., Shenoute of Atripe and the Christian Destruc- tion of Temples in Egypt: Rhetoric and Reality, in J. HAHN, S. EMMEL, U. GOTTER (eds.), From Temple to Church, p. 161-201.
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passage from the sermon De iudicio, Shenoute mentions the following encounter with an obstinate pagan38: He whom I found in the temple of Atripe, praising Satan and conse- crating offerings to him (ouwtN nav ebol)39, he scattered flow- ers, persea-branches, bunches of grape leaves and other plants, and then he lit a fire in that place, (even though) we had already burnt down that place of idols (eanrwkç Mpma Neidwlon etMmau) along with everything within it. Whatever gods this man was worshipping, the important point is that Shenoute mentions the destruction of some part of the temple as a gener- ally accepted background to his story. Similarly, in the discourse Let Our Eyes, Shenoute recounts how he and a gang of monks entered the house of a crypto-pagan and found idols «whom he [viz. the crypto- pagan] worships, by lighting a lot of lamps for them, and offering up incense to them on the altars, with what they call kyphi, and breaking bread before them.»40 In order to demonstrate his expertise on pagan idols, Shenoute mentions that he previously saw such things when he entered and destroyed an actual temple41. For many good reasons, scholars have recently questioned the historio- graphic value of details mentioned in early Christian sermons and testi- monies42. In particular, Rafed el-Sayed has expressed doubts about Shen- oute and the destruction of pagan temples, suggesting that the temple of Atripe was already abandoned by the reign of Diocletian (c. 298 CE)43. However, the only evidence cited in support of this theory is a short com- munication from P. Panopolis Beatty I, 259-26044:
38 H. BEHLMER, Schenute von Atripe: De Iudicio, p. 91-92, 247; cf. also S. EMMEL, in: J. HAHN, S. EMMEL, U. GOTTER (eds.), From Temple to Church, p. 163-164. 39 H. BEHLMER, Schenute von Atripe: De Iudicio, p. 247, translated «ihm ein Tranko- pfer darbrachte.» However, for the various meanings of wdn (> ouwtn), see S. SCHOTT, Eine ägyptische Bezeichnung für Litaneien, in O. FIRCHOW (ed.), Ägyptologische Studien, Berlin 1955, p. 289-295. 40 Translation of S. Emmel, in: J. HAHN, S. EMMEL, U. GOTTER (eds.), From Temple to Church, p. 169-170, 185 (21), 193 (21). 41 S. EMMEL, in: J. HAHN, S. EMMEL, U. GOTTER (eds.), From Temple to Church, p. 178. 42 See the pertinent remarks of R.S. BAGNALL, Models of Evidence in the Study of Religion in Late Roman Egypt, in: J. HAHN, S. EMMEL, U. GOTTER (eds.), From Temple to Church, p. 25-9. 43 R. EL-SAYED, Sokar 13 (2006), p. 75; ID., Athribis Report 2008, in: Tenth Interna- tional Congress of Egyptologists, Abstracts, Rhodes 2008, p. 79; ID., The Temple of Min and Repit at Athribis, Egyptian Archaeology 31 (2008), p. 21; see also P. GROSSMANN, in: J. HAHN, S. EMMEL, U. GOTTER (eds.), From Temple to Church, p. 323. 44 T.C. SKEAT, Papyri from Panopolis in the Chester Beatty Library Dublin (Chester Beatty Monographs, No. 10), Dublin 1964, p. 34-35, 122-123.
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To Didymus also called Harpocration, son of Didymus, superintend- ent of bedding of the [T]ripheion. The most excellent senate, in its communication to me through Plutogenes, President in office, has notified me that you have been selected for the superintendence of bedding of the palace in the Tripheion for the auspiciously impending visit of our ruler the Emperor Diocletian, the Senior Augustus. In order therefore that you may know and at once undertake the duties entrusted to you, I send this communication to you by the hand of Leon my servant. Year 15/14/7, Thoth 20th. Signed. Since Diocletian was to stay in a palation at the Tripheion (Atripe), scholars have argued that the temple was no longer functioning, since the imperial visit would have presumably required a massive transfor- mation of the building45. However, the term palation did not necessarily imply «eine römische Palastanlage mit zugehörigem Fort»46, but merely denoted the temporary headquarters of an Emperor traveling outside of Rome47. Furthermore, there is no reason to assume that an Emperor could not have held audience in an active Egyptian temple; in fact the presence of the ruler most likely honored the local sanctuary.48 Even if the temple had fallen into disuse by the end of the third century, the building itself must have been in good condition to serve as a palation for Diocletian and his entourage, and thus there is no reason to assume the temple had already collapsed by the time Shenoute arrived. The spolia at the White Monastery prove at the very least that some of the building material came from the temple of Atripe. The architec- tural and textual sources suggest that the builder of the church Shenoute ordered the transfer of the ceiling stones during or after Shenoute’s purported «destruction» of the pagan temple. This does not mean that
45 E.g. R.S. BAGNALL, Egypt in Late Antiquity, Princeton 1993, p. 265. 46 R. EL-SAYED, in: Tenth International Congress of Egyptologists, Abstracts, Rhodes 2008, p. 79. Evidence for a late Roman fortress has not yet been presented. Note, how- ever, that if the Repyt temple actually had been converted into a fortress by the reign of Diocletian, Shenoute and his audience must have been aware of its new function, and thus his allusion to «the temple of Atripe (perpe natripe)» would have been completely meaningless. 47 See primarily F. MILLAR, The Emperor in the Roman World, London 1977, p. 20, 41-42 (discussing this example on p. 42); H. HALFMANN, Itinera principum. Geschichte und Typologie der Kaiserreisen im Römischen Reich (Heidelberger Althistorische Beiträge und Epigraphische Studien 2), Stuttgart 1986, p. 88-89. 48 Caracalla had previously stayed in the Serapeum during his infamous trip to Alexandria (Cassius Dio LXXVII 23.3; mentioned by H. HALFMANN, Itinera principum, p. 89).
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Shenoute faced an army of zealous pagan priests, and the destruction may have been largely symbolic. In any event, his claim to have «burnt down» the temple is certainly an exaggeration. The Atripe blocks derive almost exclusively from the ceiling of the Repyt temple, and the builders probably removed them specifically for reuse in the White Monastery staircase. Archaeological remains and multiple textual sources — including the testimony of Christians, pagans, and Imperial legislation aimed at pro- tecting the monuments — demonstrate that temples were destroyed and looted throughout the entire Roman Empire in this period of Late Antiq- uity49. Viewed in its general historical context, the use of pagan spolia in the White Monastery church is neither surprising nor unfeasible.
Yale University David KLOTZ [email protected]
POSTSCRIPT
A recent discussion of this topic was announced in 2010, but not in time to be consulted for the present article: R. EL-SAYED, Schenute und die Tempel von Atripe. Zur Umnutzung des Triphisbezirks in der Spätantike, in: H. KNUF, Chr. LEITZ, D. VON RECKLINGHAUSEN (eds.), Honi soit qui mal y pense. Studien zum pharaonischen, griechisch-römischen und spätantiken Ägypten zu Ehren von Heinz-Josef Thissen (OLA 194), Leuven 2010, p. 519-538.
49 See especially J. HAHN, S. EMMEL, U. GOTTER (eds.), From Temple to Church.
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Fig. 1 – Granite Relief of Amasis, reused in the Church of St. Shenoute (west staircase) Photo: D. Klotz.
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Fig. 2 – Ceiling Block from Atripe, reused in the Church of St. Shenoute (east staircase) Photo: D. Klotz.
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Fig. 3 – Two Ceiling Blocks from Atripe, reused in the Church of St. Shenoute (east staircase) Photo: D. Klotz.
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Fig. 4 – Building Inscription from Atripe, reused in the Church of St. Shenoute (east staircase) Copy: D. Klotz.
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Fig. 5 – Relief with Min and child god, outside the Church of St. Shenoute. Photo: D. Klotz.
Fig. 6 – Relief with Bes-heads and kheker-frieze, reused in the Church of St. Shenoute (roof) Photo: D. Klotz.
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